Bengaluru: Covid-19 had been a bane for patients with multiple comorbidities and those on immunosuppressants were no exception. 56-year-old Sreenivasan (name changed) who had recently undergone renal transplant at one of the hospitals in Bengaluru contracted Covid-19. He was admitted at Bengaluru based Sakra World Hospital, one of the city’s leading healthcare institutions and was on immunosuppressants, had to bear the severe impact of Coronavirus during the pandemic times until the excellent coordination and support the team of doctors from Sakra World Hospital became his saviour.
When Sreenivasan contracted Covid-19 virus and developed fever along with chills and shortness of breath, it was rather impossible to get an emergency bed in any city hospitals at that time. With a majority of hospitals being hesitant to take up such cases, his family was left helpless when Sakra decided to admit him for further observation. To make it worse, his wife too was not well and could not accompany him to the hospital during his treatment. He was left solely on the care of the doctors and hospital staff who were made aware of his medical history, condition and the renal transplant that he underwent earlier.
The 56-year-old was admitted in an isolation ward and was consulted under Dr Sushma Rani R, Senior Consultant – Nephrology and a team of doctors at Sakra World Hospital. He was found to have low oxygen saturation – abnormal breath sounds indicating inflammation, fluid, or infection in the air sacs of the lung. He was immediately put on antiviral medications and covid infection specific targeted treatment. When his oxygen saturation level worsened, Sreenivasan was shifted to the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU), his antibiotics were escalated and he was put on Non-Invasive Ventilation support. His family was constantly kept updated on the guarded prognosis.
The patient responded to the treatment, showed signs of gradual improvement, his breathing difficulty reduced, saturation improved and blood and urine culture were negative. He was shifted back to the isolation ward, monitored for vitals and a repeat Covid-19 test conducted appeared negative.
Efficient infrastructure and effective care helped Sreenivasan overcome an acute emergency at a difficult time within minimal days and he is doing perfectly well now.
Upon understanding the seriousness of the situation during the initial days of the outbreak of the pandemic, Sakra Hospital was one of the first movers amongst the other hospitals in Bengaluru to initiate the process of combating the deadly coronavirus by converting its ER Dept into an isolation centre along with setting up the Porta cabins/Fever clinic for touch-free consultation for OPD patients with COVID like symptoms. These dedicated isolation rooms are equipped with all basic facilities such as oxygen support and have been designed at par with international standards. The hospital announced 5 fully-equipped ambulances to bring in patients to the hospitals whenever the team receives a confirmation on a positive case. Recently, Sakra has also introduced its Home Healthcare Services with specially trained doctors, nurses and pandemic staff to take care of home isolated patients.
